Although not so limited in utility or scope, embodiments of the present invention relate to bladed drywall tools such as taping knives and putty knives. A traditional taping knife includes a flat, planar blade with a surface-engaging edge. Extending from the rear of the blade, and integral therewith, is a shank having upper and lower shank surfaces. Attached to the upper and lower shank surfaces, and coextensive with at least a majority portion thereof, are, respectively, upper and lower handle portions such that the shank is “sandwiched” therebetween. The handle portions are retained to the shank by one or more of (i) curable adhesive such as epoxy and (ii) fasteners such as rivets or screws.
In addition to taping knives constructed as generally described above, there exist taping knives with solid-core plastic handles, some of which include overmolds made from material of lower durometer to provide a comfortable and relatively high-friction gripping surface. In such a taping knife, the core includes a core slot extending longitudinally from an opening in a front end of the solid core toward—and typically almost to—a rear core end opposite the front core end. The shank includes protuberances (e.g., sawtooth-shaped ridges or forwardly-directed barbs) such that, after the shank is forcibly inserted into the core slot through the opening during fabrication, it is prevented by the core material's engagement with the protuberances from being readily removed from the handle.
In accordance with either of the traditional configurations described above, the metal shank extending rearwardly of the blade is invariably nearly the entire length of the handle, whether it be sandwiched between upper and lower handle portions with its edge visible therebetween or encased in a polymeric (e.g., plastic) core. Moreover, in the latter type in which the shank is encased in a polymeric material, the polymeric core is typically “solid” or “contiguous” throughout and includes few in any voids.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a bladed tool configured in a manner that substantially reduces that amount of metal (e.g., steel) required in the blade-retaining shank and, relative to various existing configurations, the amount of polymeric material (e.g., plastic) dedicated to the shank-encasing handle core.